Last Full Week of 1st Grade!

Dear Parents,

      Can you believe this upcoming week will be our last full week of school? It has been a wonderful journey getting to guide your child through their first grade year.  Last week may have been our best yet! Thank you so much to those of you who graciously volunteered your time to make International Travelers Week so special! I hope you learned a bit about the “Land Down Under” from your child. I know I certainly learned more than I could have ever imagined.

       As I am sure these next few days will be exciting for your child, this will also be a great time of reflection and review. This next week your child will have an opportunity to “show what they know” and practice important skills that were previously taught. We will also be having our last JGB story this week. We will NOT be having any more spelling tests.

    Please remind your child that while the last few days of school are fun, that they will still need to remember to follow the essential agreements set at the beginning of the year. We still have more learning to do and will be working towards meeting new goals this week. (We are also VERY close to filling our big bucket of fuzzies for the last time)

Here is a look into the important events coming up:

Wednesday May 15^th-

Pastries for Parents (have breakfast before school with your child in the classroom)

Friday, May 17^th

 Field Day @8:00 A.M.

Monday, May 20^th-

End of the year party/yearbook signing.

@12:30

Wednesday, May 22^nd

Last Day of School

Camp Out in the Classroom

·      Your child may wear his or her pajamas to school, bring a flashlight, and his or her favorite book(s) to read.

Thank you so much for your support!

Sincerely,

    Mrs. Peake 

Where did the time go?

Dear Parents,

    I hope you have all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend! It is very hard to believe that we only have 13 more school days left together. Looking back on this year, I could not be more grateful for the group of children and parents I was given. I have been very reflective lately about this special group of students and how far they have come! Be prepared to see some tears in the days ahead as your child will always be an important part of my first and most special class.

With that being said, it is not the end yet and we have many more exciting events ahead. It is my hope that these next couple of weeks be both exciting as well as educational. 

International Travelers

Starting Monday, we will be traveling to Australia! It is finally International Travelers Week and we could not be thrilled to get started. Some of the highlights will include daily Art Activities, interactive lessons about the geography, climate, and daily life of Australians, a science experiment where we will grow our own coral, Anzac biscuit tasting (thank you Nyberg family!), a grade level art competition (wait til you see pictures of our Crocodile), a live Australian animal showing, a “walkabout” in the Media Center, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and an Australian Festival! Phew! And that’s only scratching the surface!

*It’s not too late to volunteer for any open spots on our Shutterfly website.

Pastries for Parents

I would like to provide 3 possible dates for our upcoming Pastries for Parents party that will be planned to celebrate this successful year! This party will take place in the morning before the school day begins. At your convenience, you may come to the classroom and enjoy a special breakfast with your child.

Please e-mail me the date that suits your schedule to ensure the best turn out possible:

Tuesday May 14th

Wednesday  May 15^th

Thursday  May 16^th.

Field Day 

 Field Day is scheduled for Friday May 17th. More details will come home in your child's Red Folder. 

Yearbook Signing/ End of the Year Party 

Is scheduled for May 20th @ 12:30-1:15. 

Last Day of School

I have decided that I would like to turn our classroom into a campsite for the Last Day of School. Your child will be asked to wear his or her pajamas, bring a flashlight, and their favorite book(s). If you are willing to donate one or more of the following items to our classroom for the day please let me know:

*Camping Tent

*Smores Ingredients- graham crackers, Hershey bars, and marshmallows

Thank you for all that you do to support our class!

 Sincerely, 

 Mrs. Peake 

April 21-25

Dear Parents,
   I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful Spring weather! The past couple of weeks have been action packed as we continue to prepare for Second Grade. We have traveled to our Northern and Southern neighbors: Canada and Mexico and are now ready to travel around the world. Can you believe we only have 4 weeks left together?  The children already promised me that they would visit me next year; I hope you do as well!

 One of our last four weeks together will be INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS WEEK!!! I know we have been excited about traveling all over the world through our new I.B. Unit, but International Travelers Week will take learning to a whole new level as we travel to Austrailia! From what I have heard so far, this week will be amazing! Please consider signing up to volunteer through our class' Shutterfly website!

Here is a look into this week's curriculum

Reading:

Classifying and Categorizing reading material.

Words to know:

only

goes

laugh

sometimes

before

people

country

today

(Red Words: On Spelling Test)



Spelling Words:

ate

care

close

here

like

same

state

these

those

while

Phonics:

Reviewing /oo/ as in spoon, food, stood ect.

Social Studies:

Studying Brazil, Identifying the Amazon River and Rainforests as well as important facts that relate to this South American country.

Math:

Practicing automatic recognition of addition and subtraction facts within 20.

Identifying different steps to solving story problems. 

Adding and Subtracting double digit numbers.

Writing:

Writing an informational peice on the country of Brazil.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

• Our class is in need of more Emergency Snacks. If you are willing to donate some nutritional items to our class, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for all that you do to support our class!

Mrs. Peake

April 1-5

Dear Parents,

    Thank you for visiting our classroom for our Portfolio Parties this past week! It was encouraging to see that you all had been setting goals throughout the year with your child. I could already see a difference in our classroom as I met with each of you and your child. We have worked very hard this year and the children are looking forward to reaching their different goals.

    Thank you so much to those of you who donated books to our classroom from the Book Fair! We received many books to add to our classroom library. Your generosity has been incredible this year!

   I also want to thank Luci Phillips for graciously offering to dye easter eggs with the children for Fun Friday this past week. The children had a BLAST dying their eggs!

              Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Rereading texts to practice gaining fluency and to monitor understanding.

Phonics:

Review /ou/ &/ow/ ex: mouth, cow

Syllables: Consonant ‘le’

A focus on words and syllables that have a consonant followed by an ‘le’.

Grammar:

Identifying the subject in a sentence.

Social Studies/Science:

Introducing our new Central Idea and Unit “How We Express Ourselves”. Looking into our neighbors, Canada and Mexico to identify different cultures and compare them with our own.

Math:

Understanding Place Value.

Writing:

Continue to use the First Grade Writing Checklist to edit, revise and publish our writing.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

·      There will be NO Small Groups in the month of May, due to International Travelers Week and other projects that will be going on in the classroom during that time.

·      Please also continue to make sure that your child is early or on time to school so that they feel ready to conquer the day!

·      If you would like to be sent e-mails that detail your child’s progress in our AR Program you can use the following website to input your child’s login information.

https://hosted115.renlearn.com/51385/HomeConnect/Login.aspx

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake

April 1-5

Dear Parents,

    Thank you for visiting our classroom for our Portfolio Parties this past week! It was encouraging to see that you all had been setting goals throughout the year with your child. I could already see a difference in our classroom as I met with each of you and your child. We have worked very hard this year and the children are looking forward to reaching their different goals.

    Thank you so much to those of you who donated books to our classroom from the Book Fair! We received many books to add to our classroom library. Your generosity has been incredible this year!

   I also want to thank Luci Phillips for graciously offering to dye easter eggs with the children for Fun Friday this past week. The children had a BLAST dying their eggs!

              Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Rereading texts to practice gaining fluency and to monitor understanding.

Phonics:

Review /ou/ &/ow/ ex: mouth, cow

Syllables: Consonant ‘le’

A focus on words and syllables that have a consonant followed by an ‘le’.

Grammar:

Identifying the subject in a sentence.

Social Studies/Science:

Introducing our new Central Idea and Unit “How We Express Ourselves”. Looking into our neighbors, Canada and Mexico to identify different cultures and compare them with our own.

Math:

Understanding Place Value.

Writing:

Continue to use the First Grade Writing Checklist to edit, revise and publish our writing.

Important Announcements and Reminders:

·      There will be NO Small Groups in the month of May, due to International Travelers Week and other projects that will be going on in the classroom during that time.

·      Please also continue to make sure that your child is early or on time to school so that they feel ready to conquer the day!

·      If you would like to be sent e-mails that detail your child’s progress in our AR Program you can use the following website to input your child’s login information.

https://hosted115.renlearn.com/51385/HomeConnect/Login.aspx

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake

March 25-29

Dear Parents,
      We had a productive and fun-filled week last week in first grade. The children are very excited about "showcasing" their hard work during our Portfolio Parties. This will certainly be a time for each child to practice being reflective learners, which will be an important skill for them to use throughout their lives. I look forward our first conferences this week!
    It was also an absolute pleasure meeting the childrens' Grandparents' and Special Friends! We had a wonderful time playing games, and learning more about one another.
 
 This week will be another busy week as we are celebrating "Health and Wellness Week" and will be visiting the Spring Book Fair for our Purchase Day: our time slot is on Tuesday from 12:15-12:45. If you would like to join your child, this would be a great time.

Here's what to look forward to in the curriculum this week:

Reading:

 JGB Story "The King of the Frogs."

Classifying and Categorizing.

Phonics: 

Reviewing /ir/ and /er/ 

ex: first, litter

Open Syllables: When a single vowel is NOT followed by a consonant, the vowel will say it's name.  

Spelling Words:

1. be
2. by
3. fly
4. go
5. why
6. try
7. even
8. going
9. family
10. began

Red Words:

early

pretty

ready

very

Grammar

Reviewing synonyms and antonyms. Also practicing writing the titles of books correctly: capitalizing the important words and underlining the title.

Science:

Studying and classifying different plants.

Math:

Understanding Place Value and adding double digit numbers.

Writing:

Writing a persuasive argument.

Important Reminders and Announcements:

• Please see the recently updated "Mark your Calendar" tab of the blog to keep updated on important events.
• Please continue to check our Shutterfly website for important volunteer opportunities in our classrooms. The children absolutely love when you come in for Small Groups and benefit from it greatly. If you are able, please volunteer your time.

Thank you for all that you do in supporting our classroom!

"Team Work Makes the Dream Work!"

Sincerely,

       Jean Peake

March 18-22

Dear Parents,

     We had a great week last week in First Grade! This is such a special time of year to see the amount of growth each child has made in becoming a life long learner. We had a wonderful time at the Atlanta History Center, where the children got to be “time travelers” and visit an 1860’s farm. This field trip couldn’t have come at a better time, as we near the end of our “Heroes” unit.

 One major concept that I feel is important for children to understand is the idea of “technology.” Many of us have learned that the term technology only refers to those electronics such as: computers, ipads, ipods, and other types of machines that require a source of power. Although these are types of technologies, we found that technology is a much broader idea. The actual definition of technology is “a quicker and easier way to do something.” This has become a huge part of our class’ study of our central idea: discoveries and investigations of individuals influence culture.

   As 21^st century learners, we are living in a constantly changing world where people are inventing better ways to communicate, travel, and produce goods. I believe that the students’ are beginning to see the important role that they will have as the younger generation. This has been very motivating to them!

          We have also been focusing on making our writing more interesting and exciting for our readers by including more details specifically through the usage of adjectives and richer vocabulary. We made an “awesome adjectives dictionary” that the students are now using as a guide in their writing.

We also completed our last unit in Math and will now be focusing on “Understanding Place Value.”

Here’s a look into the curriculum this week:

Reading:

Making Inferences in all texts. Using our “schema” (ideas that we have prior to readings) and information given in the text to draw conclusions.

Phonics:

We will continue to study Closed Syllables. A Closed Syllable is when a single vowel is followed by a consonant. ex: chil-dren (2 closed syllables)

Grammar:

Introducing the concept that present tense verbs that end in y and make the /ie/ sound drop the y and add “ied” to become past tense. Ex: cry (cried), dry (dried), deny (denied) Reviewing: Synonyms and Capitalizing Days of the Week.

Social Studies/Science:

Continuing our study of American Heroes and completing a couple of activities in celebration of our upcoming Grandparents or Special Friends’ Event.

Math:

Introducing Place value with tens and ones. Beginning addition of double digit numbers and solving story problems relating to place value.

Writing:

Writing an opinion piece while making revisions to follow the First Grade Writing Checklist.

Important Announcements/Reminders:

• This Tuesday, March 19^th there will be a General PTA meeting where you will have the opportunity to meet our new Principal for the following School year!

•  Wednesday, March 20^th we will be having our First Grade Hero Parade. Please make sure your child has completed and rehearsed their paragraph about their hero and comes dressed up or with props in hand. It might also be a great idea to have their hero’s name written somewhere on their costume so that the other grade levels will recognize them.

• Also on Wednesday, March 20^th 3^rd quarter progress cards will be coming home in your child’s yellow folder as well as a craft for International Travelers Week to complete with your child. (information will be enclosed with the craft)

• Thursday March 21^st- 28^th the Spring Book Fair will be taking place at our campus. I will send you information regarding our days to “view” and “purchase” this week so that you may choose to attend if you can.

• Friday, March 22^nd will be our Grandparents/Special Friends’ Day. First Grade’s celebration will be from 10:00-10:45 in the classroom. This week our class will prepare some exciting surprises for our grandparents and special friends.

• Next week, beginning on March 25^th is the first day of our Spring Portfolio Parties. Please return your slip to confirm or reschedule your time slot. I would be happy to work with you if you need to change your time or day.

There will be no tutoring during Spring Conferences so please plan for your child to take their regular mode of transportation.

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Peake